Crucifixes – depictions of Christ nailed to the cross – are the central pictorial theme in the Christian religion: as enduring reminders of the sacrifice of his death. They number among the most important mobile items of decoration in Medieval…

When the Heidelberg Art Historian Prof. Dr. Ewald M. Vetter died in November 2006, he stated by will that the works of his collection should be distributed to different museums. So in summer 2006 this Crucifix was given to the Liebieghaus…

Like so many ivory reliefs, this panel was also once part of a book cover. It illustrates the connection between the Christian Holy Communion and Christ’s sacrifice of his own life. It shows Christ on the cross with his mother, Mary, and his…

In 1913, a spectacular purchase was made for the Liebieghaus: the Rimini Altar. It earned that adjective not only on account of its high artistic quality, but also because it was one of the most extensive and best-preserved figural ensembles made…

This bronze crucifix is one of a series of small crucifixes executed in the workshop of Giovanni Bologna. The delicate, bearded Christ is nailed to the cross with arms outstretched and one foot over the other. A barely perceptible torsion animates…

The dying Christ was fixed to the cross (which has not survived) with four nails. Despite his torment, his posture conveys an almost dancing, floating lightness. The proportions of the head as well as the distended body are anatomically distorted…

Inscribed on back of loincloth: G.S.The dead Christ is nailed to the cross with three nails and has his arms stretched upwards and only slightly to both sides. Of the original crucifix ensemble, the cross has been lost but a skull with…

This unknown artist is one of the finest representatives of the generation that began in around 1430 to take a fresher look at reality and to revise the patterns the International Style had routinely employed with new formal solutions. Rather than…

These small figures of a mourning Virgin and St John originally flanked a crucified Christ that has not survived. Also missing is the pedestal, which will have been of a type often found in the Geldern / Lower Rhine region, depicting a landscape…

The sculpture is probably from an altar shrine and presumably formed part of a crucifixion group that would have included the figures of a mourning Virgin and Christ nailed to the cross. The sculptor belonged to the generation of artists who,…

These small figures of a mourning Virgin and St John originally flanked a crucified Christ that has not survived. Also missing is the pedestal, which will have been of a type often found in the Geldern / Lower Rhine region, depicting a landscape…